Floor cleaning apparatus



' April 2, W46 H. A. TRAVIS 2,397,707 Q v FLOOR CLEANING' APPARATUSFiled nec. 8, 1943 `2 sneetS-sheet'l Blwentor A Haro/d W5 APF@ 2 946 H.A. TRAVIS FLOOR CLEANING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 8, 1943Patented Apr. 2, 1946 UNITEDv STATES PATENT oFFlcE- FLOOR CLEANINGAPPARATUS Harold A. Travis, Spokane, Wash. n Application December s,194s, serial No. 513,431

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a floor cleaning apparatus and it is oneobject of the invention to provide an apparatus adapted to be movedalong a floor by a workman and carrying a brush and a mop by means ofwhich the floor may be scrubbed and then rinsed and mopped dry.

Another object of the invention is to provide the apparatus with acarriage or portable frame equipped with wheels and castors so that itmay be very easily pushed along the floor and guided during suchmovement, said frame holding a plurality of tanks which serve ascontainers for washing water containing `soap or a cleaning powder andalso for holding rinsing water, the tanks being easily removable fromthe frame when water is to be emptied therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide the vtanks with wringersconsisting of .troughshaped members formed of foraminous material andopen at their tops so that a brush or mop may be thrust downwardlytherein and pressure applied to expel water.

Another object of the invention is to provide a handle so mounted thatit may be swung longitudinally of the frame or carriage to a position inwhich it projects from either end of the carriage, the handle beingformed of resilient material and having arms extending from a handle barof slightly less length than the width of the carriage. By so formingthe handle its arms must be spread when the handle is applied tov thecarriage and its arms will grip the frame and frictionally hold thehandle in adjusted position.

Another object is to provide a cleaner and a swab detachably mounted atopposite ends of the carriage and eachbeing shiftable vertically andurged downwardly so that the brush or swab will be pressed against thefloor.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved floor cleaning apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the brush or mop at one end of thecarriage.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken transversely through the brush.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken longitudinally through thefloor cleaning apparatus, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a View looking at one end of the floor cleaning apparatus.

This improved floor cleaning apparatus has a portable carriage or frameI formed of angle metal and having side bars 2 and end bars 3.

Corner posts 4' extend upwardly from the frame and since they are madeof angle metal they may have snug fitting engagement with corners of arow of receptacles or rtanks 5 carried by the carriage. Since the sidebars-and end bars 2 and 3 overlap lower portions of the tanks they cannot slide longitudially or transversely off the carriage and since thecorner posts have close fitting engagement with sides and ends of thetanks, they will be prevented from tipping and falling from thecarriage. Cross bars 6 extend between the posts across opposite ends ofthe carriage and these bars carry Studs 'I which project outwardly fromthe cross bars and have heads-'I' at their outer ends. There .have alsobeen provided cross bars 8 which extend across the frame between theside bars thereof andare spaced from each other longitudinally of theframe as shown in Fig. 5. Referring to this figure and Figure 2, it willbe seen that the cross bars serve to brace the frame or carriage againsttransverse spreading and also carry wheels 9 and castors I0 by means ofwhich the carriage is supported above a floor and permit the carriage tobe easily pushed along the door. Since wheels having xed mountings areused at one end of the carriage and castors at its other end, thecarriage may be easily guided as it is pushed along a floor. A handle IIserves as means for pushing or pulling the carriage along a oor. Thishandle is formed of thick metal having resiliency and since the handleis U-shaped, as shown in Fig. 2, it may straddle the carriage and haveits arms I2 pivoted at their lower ends to the side bars 2 of the frameby fasteners |13. Since the pins or fasteners I3 are located midway thelength of the frame or carriage, the handle may be swung longitudinallyof the carriage and project from reither end thereof an equal distance.The hand bar I4 of the handle is of less length than the width of thecarriage or frame. Therefore, the arms I2 must be spread somewhat whenthe handle is applied and their tendency to return to their normalposition will cause them to have gripping engagement with the cornerposts and the handle will be frictionally held at a desired angle.

The cleaning members I6 at opposite ends of the frame are of duplicateconstruction except that one is preferably a brush and the other a mop.Each has a head I'I carrying tufts I8 which are held in grooves I9formed in the under face of a head by wires 20, it being understood thatthe tufts of the brush will be formed of stiff strands and the tufts ofthe mop of soft material,

such as cord or the like. A board 2l extends upwardly from each head l?and has its lower end mounted in a groove or recess 22 formed in thehead. The upper portion of the board is of reduced width and across itsupper end the board is formed with an opening 23 which provides theboard with a handhold so that it may be easily grasped and the cleanerheld in a persons hand. Slots 24 having enlarged lower portions 25 areformed vertically 'in the board in transverse spaced relation to eachother, and attention is called to the fact that the dimensions of theslots and their lower portions are.

such that while heads of the studs .may` pass through the lower portions25 of the'slotsthey may not pass through the slots themselves.

Therefore, the boards may be ,applied to the studs by passing the studsthrough the enlargedV portions of the slots and when the hoar'dsareshifted downwardly they will be held against movement off "the" studs;While 4the -weight -cf the boards will urge the cleaners downwardly, itisk desired to have them press pressed against the riioor so that algood cleaning or mopping 'action will be had. f Therefore each boardcarries hooks 26 lwhich project from its opposite sides for engagementby springs 2l. These springs have their lower ends engaged with lugs or'brackets 28 carried by-the end-bars 3 and since the springs arestretchedl in order to` be engaged with the hooks 26,' they will-exertdownward pull and press thecleaners firmlyagainst the floor.

When the iloor cleaningapparatus is in use,the tanks or receptacles arefilled with water, the water in one tank, preferably an end tank, hav'-ing soap ora cleaning powder mixed therewith, and the other'tanks` beinglled with plain water which is to be used for, rinsing purposes. A brushis applied tosone end ofthe carriage and a mop at its other end, orbrushes may be appliedY to both ends of th'e lcarriage while scrubbinglthe iloor, and mops substituted when swabbing the iloor to remove dirtywater after the. floor hasbeenfthoroughly scrubbed and cleaned. In orderto wet thebrush or brushes with soapy water, a brush' is grasped at itsupper .end and the springs 21 detached. The board is then detached fromtherstuds 'IY and the brush dipped into the tank` containing VsoapVwater. replaced; The carriageis then pushed or'pulled along the floorand the-,brush or brushes will scrub the floor clean. Reciprocatingmovement may be, imparted to the carriageand also transverse movement.After the iioorI or a portion thereof has been scrubbed, the brushes areremoved and the mopssubstituted. The mopsare successively dipped in theclearwater and' surplus waterremoved therefrom before and after amapping operation..`

In order that water may be removed from a mop, each tank is providedwith a. wringer 29 consisting of a tray formed of foraminous materialsuch as perforated sheet metal or thick wire screening. 'Ihe traysextend transversely in th'e tanks and when a mop or brush is set into atray and pressure applied, water will be squeezed therefrom and draininto the tank. It will thus be seen that with this apparatus, a floormay be scrubbed in a very thorough manner and then mo'pld dry.r

Having th'us described the invention, what is claimed is:

`- 1. In a oor cleaning apparatus, a portable -frame having corner postsand cross bars extending transversely of the frame at ends thereofbetweenv the` corner posts, studs extending outwardly from said crossbars and spaced from each bthe'r'longitudinally of thecross bars andhaving heads'at their outer ends, cleaning implements at opposite endsof said'frame, each cleaning implement consisting V'or-a; cleaner-headextending transversely of th'e frame with itsends projecting fromopposite sides-ofthe frame, strands depending from the cleaner-head,` aboard extending "upwardly from'. the cleaner-headV and projectingupwardly above'the cross bars, the board being-formed withvertical'slots in its lower portion through which the studs removably pass tomount the implement for vertical movement, springs coiled about saidstudswith their outer endsV abutting heads of theV studs and their innerends bearing against the boards; hooks carried by th'e board atoppositesides thereof, and springs carried4 by said frame at opposite sides ofits ends and engaged with'said hooks to effect downward pull upon thecleaning elements.v 1 f 2. In a iioor cleaning: apparatus, a portableframe, pins extending outwardlyfrom an end of said frame and spaced fromeach other transyersely of theframe and having heads at their outerends, an implement at the said end of said frame having`a'hea'dlextending transversely of theframe for the'full widththereofand carry- :ingdepending` tufts, an upwardly` extending board carried bythe head` and formedwith a handheld. at its top, 'said board beingformed withtransversely spaced vertical slots in its lowerl portionVhaving enlarged lower ends whereby heads of the pins may be passedthrough th'e enlarged ends of the'slotsand the pins'en'gaged through theslots'and removablyvmount the im'- ple'ment for verticalV slidingmovement, hooks projecting from opposite sides of said board, eyescarried by said frame near opposite sides of the said end of the frame,and coil springs carried by said eyes and extending upwardly with theirupper ends removably engaged With'said Ahooks to exert downward pull onthe implement.` Y Y l HAROLD A. TRAVIS.

